Uber Australia has announced the launch of a service called UberAssist, designed to provide trained drivers that help customers with extra assistance and special needs.

The company says that its top driver partners will receive the required training to deal with and assist passengers requiring unique access requirements.

Some of these services include folding wheelchairs, walkers and collapsing scooters as part of the taxi service. The service won’t yet cater for passengers requiring lifts or accessibility ramps, but says this service will come in the near future.

“Uber is working hard to make it easier and more affordable for people to get around their city. With uberASSIST, our driver-partners are helping to extend that convenience to those with different accessibility needs,” said Uber Australia and New Zealand general manager David Rohrsheim.

UberAssist driver training has been developed by the Open Doors Organisation (USA), along with consultation from the Australian Network on Disability (AND).

AND chief executive Suzanne Colbert said, “The Australian Network on Disability welcomes the uberASSIST service which will expand the transport options for many people with disability”.

“It’s great to see Uber’s focus on drivers knowing how to say and do the right thing to welcome riders with disability. We are proud that Uber has joined the Australian Network on Disability alongside other great Australian organisations to welcome people with disability as riders and drivers.”

To access the service, users need to enter the code ‘ASSISTAU’ in the promotions tab of the Uber application to access the UberAssist features.